Whomp's Fortress (Kaizo Mario 64)
Whomp's Fortress is the second course of Kaizo Mario 64, requiring only a single Power Star to open. The level contains a self-proclaimed 'Kaizo Trap': Mario's initial starting position is above a Red ! Box hovering over the void, so if he enters this level before pressing the Wing Cap Switch, he will immediately fall into the void and lose a life. This stage initially seems very straightforward (some platforms are removed and most enemies are replaced, notably by Heave-Hos), most changes are not noticable until Mario has collected the first star in this course. A path spirals up far, far above the top of the fortress, lined with tilted breakable bridges and invisible cannons in the sky. Another path appears on the side of the fortress where the flagpole was in the original game, where Mario has to cross dangerous spinning platforms surrounded by flamethrowers to reach a red coin. Overall, this is possibly the most innovative, original, and overall changed level in this hack. Stars 'Star 1: Chip Off Whomps Block' Mario's first mission is to climb up to the top of the fortress where the Whomp King waits for him. There are no Bomps on the fortress' walls to knock him off, but there aren't any extending bridges either, and Heave-Hos line the platforms along the fortress' lower path. The spinning platform over the pool has been removed, as have the elevator platforms leading to the Whomp King's arena, so Mario will need to make some skilled long jumps and wall kicks to reach the top of the fortress. Once he makes it up here though, he will find that the fight with the Whomp King is unchanged from the original game, and the star is easily collected. 'Star 2: To the Top of the Fortress' Though its name is identical to star 2 in the first game, this is far from the same challenge it was in Super Mario 64. Possibly one of the hardest stars in the early game, Mario must climb the tower on top of the fortress like always, but the star is not waiting there. Instead, he will see an breakable bridge hovering over the air a short distance away, tilted at a steep angle. There are eight of these bridges in total, every other one with a Kuromame on it, and Mario will have to jump from one to the next as he gradually spirals his way up higher and higher through the level. The tilt of each bridge, combined with how they fall apart almost as soon as Mario lands on them, means he will have to be both careful and lucky to cross them safely. After the eighth bridge is a coin hovering in mid-air: This coin indicates that an invisible cannon is located here, which Mario will have to enter. Without moving the cannon's sight at all, shoot from its default position to reach another invisible mid-air cannon on the other side of the map (There is no in-game indicator to this cannon's existence). Mario should point this cannon at the nearby mid-air flagpoles so he can grab onto one as he shoots towards it. He must climb up to the top of one flagpole and then jump to the next (avoiding the flamethrowers in between them), and repeat this process until he reaches the top of the final flagpole. From here he can jump to a mid-air Purple Switch, which will spawn six tilted timed boxes, leading up to a small floating island with a star on it. Mario needs to carefully jump across these boxes, ensuring he always lands on the side pointing upwards so he doesn't slide down the tilted edge, until he finally reaches the floating island. The star is here waiting for him, as is a red coin. If Mario falls at any point during this ascent, he will either fall into the void below and lose a life, or might fall onto the fortress and simply have to restart the climb from the beginning. 'Star 3: Shoot into the Wild Blue' This star is located on the left edge of the fortress, in the same spot it was in the original game. The Bob-omb Buddy only appears when this star is selected, so Mario will have to find him first to open the ground level cannon here. On the top of the fortress, a giant wooden board can be knocked down to create a bridge to an arrow shaped island. This island is where the Bob-omb Buddy is. There's one final challenge in getting this star: A flamethrower periodically covers the pole on the ledge with this star, so Mario will have to time his cannon shot to grab onto the pole while it is inactive. Alternatively, a simple side flip wall kick against the side wall of the fortress will get Mario enough height to easily land on this platform, allowing him to avoid all of the above tasks and collect the star within seconds. 'Star 4: Red Coins on the Fortress' Mario has already seen at least one red coin so far: Beneath star 2, on the floating island at the very top of the level. As challenging as star 2 was to collect, this one is all the more difficult. The locations of all of the red coins are as follows: #Above the corner of the grassy area where Mario starts #In the gap between the first and second platform on the fortress' lower path #In the gap between the second and third platform on the fortress' lower path #At the end of a long path on the side of the fortress above star 3, made up of spinning platforms lined with flamethrowers above the void (This red coin can be collected more easily by jumping down directly onto it from the floating island on the very top of the level) #On the sloped wall on the back of the fortress, off the edge near where the elevator platforms were in the original game #High in the air above the side of the fortress with star 3, reachable by triple jumping from the top of the fortress #In the caged island, reachable with a long jump from the top of the tower #On the floating island with star 2 If Mario survives collecting all eight red coins, he can find the star just past the platform the Bob-omb Buddy was on in the star above. 'Star 5: The Tower's Secret Door' Many veteran Super Mario 64 players might have no idea that there is a breakable wall at the base of one of the sides of the tower in this stage. Behind this wall is a 1-Up Mushroom in the original game, but a star hides there in Kaizo Mario 64. To be more fair to observant players who did not know of this secret spot, the breakable wall is set a bit further into the tower in this game, causing a notable alcove. 'Star 6: Blast Away the Wall' For one final time, Mario will have to climb up the dangerous path of breakable bridges above the top of the fortress. He can still jump into the first invisible mid-air cannon, but if he tries to shoot towards the second one, he will find that it does not exist when this star is selected, and therefore he cannot climb any higher through the stage. Instead, he should aim the cannon to the right, where a conspicuous wall hangs in mid-air. Aim a short distance above this wall and shoot, and Mario will fly straight through it and into the star hidden behind it. Enemies *Grand Goomba *Heave-Ho *Kuromame *Whomp King Trivia *Because the red coin star is set to be inactive whenever star 1 is selected, collecting a red coin while on star 1 will not cause the number to appear that indicates how many red coins you've collected. Category:Kaizo Mario 64 Category:Location Category:Level Category:Extreme level Category:Sky Location